The Deepest Bond
by pain17ification
Summary: Kushina Uzumaki couldn't accept dying when her son was destined to live alone in the world. She is offered a deal by the Shinigami, allowing her to live with Naruto at the cost of losing her right as his mother! Now, she is alive and will help Naruto grow up to be the shinobi she knows he was always meant to be! However, she may find herself doing more for Naruto than she thought!
1. Chapter 1: Dealing with Death

**Well, here we go again with a new story idea! However, I have decided to try something new!**

**Welcome to the first chapter of "The Deepest Bond", a story that will focus mainly on a certain Red Habanero with a slightly less focus on an Orange Maelstrom!**

**Now, to deal with damn copyright and legal bullshit, I OWN NOTHING!**

**X-x-X-x-X**

**The Deepest Bond**

**Chapter 1: Dealing with Death**

**X-x-X-x-X**

_In this life we live, it is not what we take up, but what we give up. Never before had I sacrificed so much, but I don't regret it._

_For in that sacrifice, I was able to be with the man I love today._

**X-x-X-x-X**

She sat there on her knees, her body too numb to move and her gaze focused on the blonde child that was placed on the altar before her. Amethyst orbs stared at the sleeping face of the whiskered babe before her while her mind screamed at her body to move.

But she couldn't. Her body was losing strength by the second, and tears fell down her cheeks as she began to lose all hope. She couldn't let this be the end; not now. She had just received the greatest gift she could ask of the Kami, and she was going to lose that gift on the very same night.

A sudden glimpse of white was seen in her peripheral and her orbs darted to it. Her body was too weak, but her eyes were still able to take note of the deity of death floating near her. She took note of how it floated towards her child, fear gripping her very core.

_'No… Please not him!'_ she begged mentally, unable to speak. _'Don't take my son, please! I'll do anything; just don't take him!'_

The floating entity stopped in front of the child before it turned to her, cruel yellow orbs meeting desperate amethyst. The teeth holding the dagger in its mouth grew in number as its lips stretched to a cruel grin.

_"You wish to save him from his fate, mortal?"_ it asked in a whispery voice that echoed throughout her head.

More tears spilled from her eyes as they never left the face of death. _'Yes, more than anything!'_ she replied in her head, trying once again to move her numb body.

A spectral purple arm wrapped in red beads waved to the child. _"And if I asked you to give up something for him, what would you give me?"_

_'Anything!'_

The grin grew as the dagger was taken out of the Shinigami's mouth. It lowered the weapon to her, the tip inches from her heart. _"And if I asked you to give up your right to call him your own…what then, mortal?"_

Her eyes widened in horror at the question. This was not what she expected at all! She thought her soul would be the payment, or even her freedom. But she never thought she'd be told to give up her right as mother to her child.

Her eyes closed and her head bowed from both her dying strength and her despairing heart. Tears hit the ground and the small plinks they made sounded like booms of thunder to her. Seeing no other option, and wishing to stay alive for her child, she mentally answered, _'I will give up that right… Just please let me stay with him… I can't lose him!'_

A cruel chuckle was heard as her chin was lifted by the dagger tip, making her look into the entity's intimidating gaze. _"Very well, mortal… I will let you live. But first…"_

A sudden squelch was heard as the dagger stabbed into her very core, making her mouth force itself open and her eyes widen in a silent scream of pure agony. It was stabbing directly into her soul, and she felt it shift and change under the sheer pain.

Slowly, the blade was pulled out and she saw the smallest strand of orange thread wrapped around the dagger's edge. She didn't need to ask what that was, for she knew the significance of that color. With Minato as the _Yellow Flash_ and she herself as the _Red Habanero_, it was only natural that Naruto take on a mix of their respective colorations.

She wept as she saw the thread disappear into flecks of light, her heart crying out and begging for this to be a cruel nightmare. But she knew that this was as real as anything, and it made her mentally beg Naruto to forgive her.

And then, as if the earlier pain wasn't enough, the Shinigami's hand jabbed itself into her stab wound, claws first. If the Kyuubi's claw was bad, and the dagger was excruciating, then the claws were nothing short of hellish in terms of pure pain and agony. A bright yellow-orange glow erupted from the wound, and she felt something get injected into her core. The injection was the true pain she felt, and it nearly made her pass out from it all.

_"Consider this a reminder of what you once were,"_ stated the entity of death as it removed its hand from her. She was gasping for air as she somehow found the strength to use her hands for support. _"Now, there is one last thing you must know in this little…accord of ours."_

Her vision was blurring as she weakly looked up to the Shinigami. _'A…And that…would be…?'_ she responded, mind fading from the stress of the night as a whole.

The Shinigami scoffed at her weak form before it waved its hand lazily, restoring a fair amount of her strength. _"Pay attention, mortal. This is important."_ It noticed her slowly stand up, still breathing heavily as she stared up at it. _"You won't be able to be with the child right away. In fact, you're going to go through a…change before you can be with him."_

"What kind of…change?" she asked worriedly. Hadn't she been through enough already?

_"A simple yet complicated one,"_ answered the entity. _"I am not without my own share of debts, and one of them concerns Izanagi himself. As such, to repay the debt I owe unto him, and to give you the best chance with the Prophecy Child, you will go through a change that will have you match him. The process for this will not be instant, for it will be a very complicated procedure. However, the premise itself is what makes it simple."_

She frowned in confusion. "What do you mean by the _premise_ being simple?"

_"You will have your age reversed to match the age the boy will be when he learns of his tenant. That is the simple part. The complicated part is actually __**performing**__ the reversal."_ It waved a hand again, surrounding her in a hazy purple sphere. _"You won't be seeing the child for a while, but you will again in time,"_ it declared before it and Kushina vanished into nothingness.

Before they did, the woman caught sight of Naruto opening his deep blue eyes and meeting her gaze. She gave him a teary smile as the last sight of him faded from her vision and everything went black.

**X-x-X-x-X**

A groan was heard in a worn and abandoned building as amethyst eyes blearily opened for the first time in fifteen years. It took some time for them to get adjusted to the light before their focus suddenly sharpened and the owner of them shot up in a defensive stance on pure instinct.

They darted left and right while their ears were focused on any and all sounds in the area. After finally seeing nothing was amiss, they relaxed and sighed.

Kushina Uzumaki, the now ex-mother of Naruto, had finally woken up. She took note of where she was, taking slightly longer glances at the wall decorated with masks and the sign of her old clan and homeland on the architecture of the building.

"I know this place," she whispered before gasping and placing a hand to her throat. "My voice…" She then looked to her hand and saw how it was smaller than she remembered. "My hands…" She took a look at herself before she rushed to a puddle formed inside a hole in the floor. "My face," she whispered in awe as she took note of how young she looked.

Her eyes narrowed as she returned her gaze to the mask wall guarded by black hellfire. She stepped up to it and held a half ram seal, dispelling the fire with her potent Uzumaki chakra. Once it was extinguished, she stepped up to the wall, briefly remembering what her predecessor told her about a certain mask, before she grabbed one with demonic teeth and a pair of horns.

She turned it over in her grip, inspecting it all over, before she slowly put it on. She felt an immediate drain on her chakra as the Shinigami appeared before her, looking less than pleased.

_"What is it, mortal? I have given you what you wanted."_

She glared at the entity and retorted, "I noticed. I want to know what happened and how long I've been…changing."

The Shinigami rolled its eyes in annoyance, but still answered. _"Fifteen years to the day of our accord has passed, so much has happened. As for the exact events that have occurred, I'll let you find out for yourself."_

"Fifteen years?! My son-!"

_"He isn't your child anymore, mortal. You gave up that right if you recall."_

She growled at the smirking deity and ground out, "Naruto wasn't told of the Kyuubi for fifteen years?!"

_"It would appear so now, wouldn't it?"_ retorted the entity before it returned to the mask with a final word. _"We're done now. Destroy that mask so that I won't be called again through illegitimate methods."_

"Gladly," she seethed before throwing the mask into the air and stabbing it violently with a pair of her **Chakra Chains**. The mask shattered before her and the pieces crumbled away into dust at her feet. "Bastard… If this wasn't for Naruto-kun's sake, I'd tell it to take the deal and shove it up its ass, ttebane!"

Slowly, her anger left her system and a sigh escaped her lips. She was now years into the future and she had no idea what was going on. A frown marred her and she began to look for clothes since the white robe she wore during…that night were both ruined and too big for her.

Checking the closets and the rooms of the shrine, she found sets of robes fir for a shrine maiden in various sizes. It took a bit to find one in her size, but when she did it looked very good on her. The red hakama pants accentuated her crimson locks well and the pure white haori that was tied with a red ribbon. Her hair was left untied and free to flow down to her lower back with a single clip parting her hair to the left. She also found a full body black cloak that she put on with the hood covering her head.

"Okay… I need to see what changed over the years," she said to herself as she entered the village. An immediate thing she noticed was the lax security since she was able to get in without an issue.

She kept to herself as she walked down the village streets, looking around at the content villagers and the somewhat peaceful atmosphere. A smile slowly came to her lips and she began to think that perhaps she was overly worried for nothing.

However, a sudden shift in the general outlook of the populace put that thought to a screeching halt. She noticed many eyes glaring at something and it confused her before she felt a sharp tug on her mind, making her hold her head with a hiss of pain.

_**"****The one you're looking for is on your left,"**_ spoke a voice that was deep and whispery. Confusion growing, she turned and froze at what she saw.

There walking down the street with hands in orange pant pockets was a teenage boy with wild blonde hair and blue eyes. He wore a jumpsuit that was predominantly orange with splashes of blue and white on it while the symbol of the Uzumaki resided on the back of his jacket. However, what really drew her attention were the whiskered cheeks and the feeling of dense chakra coming from him.

"Naruto," she whispered as she watched him trudge down the streets with his gaze downward. Her heart ached when she saw that he had no smile on his face; let alone any kind of emotional expression. His face was blank and his gaze never met any of the villagers.

Without another thought, she began to follow and took care not to look suspicious doing so. All the while, the voice in her head spoke up once again. _**"So, that's the vessel of my other half, huh?"**_

_'Other half?'_ she asked back.

A snort was heard before the voice replied, _**"Yes, my other half; my Yang Chakra."**_

She nearly tripped at the statement and realization of who she was speaking to. _'Kyuubi…'_

_**"****Indeed, I am the Yin Chakra of the Kyuubi that was sealed into the Shinigami. I was given to you so that the whole of Kyuubi wouldn't be lost to the world."**_

_'But why me? Why am I your vessel when you were ripped from me?'_

_**"****It is exactly because of that reason that you were chosen to carry me. You were already used to my presence; even if it was a torturous one,"**_ answered the Yin Kyuubi, growling at the end.

Kushina winced at what the fox was referring to. When it was sealed into her, it was chained and staked to a large floating orb and left unable to move or influence her. All it could do was wait for the opportunity to escape…or be freed.

_'I…I'm sorry about that,'_ she replied, sincerity in her tone. _'No one – not even a Bijuu – deserves to live like that for so long.'_

_**"****Bah, it's past us and best left forgotten. For now, we need to focus on keeping the other vessel alive so that we don't lose my Yang half."**_

_'His name is Naruto,'_ she declared with a frown. _'I won't have you refer to him as a mere __**vessel**__ of your chakra.'_

The Yin Kyuubi rolled its eyes within the seal and replied, _**"Fine, we need to help keep **_**Naruto**_** alive. If either you or he dies, we lose half of the full Kyuubi, and it cannot reform as only half. It can only reform as a whole."**_

_'Okay, so we just need to keep Naruto and your other self safe. But I can't do that without joining the Ninja Corps, and I can't allow myself to be out in the open like that.'_

She absently noted Naruto heading into the familiar sight of Ichiraku Ramen. A smile came to her face as she followed and took a seat while Naruto conversed with old man Teuchi.

"So, I hear the team assignments are today," the stand owner began. "Any ideas on who your teammates will be, kid?"

The blonde sighed with his arms resting on the stand counter. "No, I don't know. All I know is that they're going to be disappointed that some guy three years their senior is on their team as a Genin. It's not my fault, but they won't care."

Kushina frowned at his words, wondering what caused him to either be held back or start later than the other students. Ayame, Teuchi's only child and coworker, handed Naruto a bowl and smiled reassuringly.

"I know you had trouble with the final tests, Naruto, but you shouldn't be so hard on yourself. No one knew why you couldn't do the **Clone Jutsu** until you learned the **Shadow Clone Jutsu** not too long ago."

"I tried to explain my situation to them every time, nee-chan," he retorted, making Kushina mentally thank Ayame for being so close to him over the years. "They never listened since they only saw the _demon brat_ and not Naruto Uzumaki."

The two chefs and cloaked redhead all frowned sadly at his words, though Kushina was also seething at how Naruto was viewed in the village. She must have done something or made a noise, for she was finally noticed by Teuchi.

"Oh, I'm sorry about that," he apologized. "I didn't notice you before. What will you have?"

She took a breath to calm herself before she answered, "A large miso ramen, please."

"Coming right up!" the chef proclaimed as he went to the kitchen to prepare the meal. Meanwhile, Ayame and Naruto looked to Kushina questioningly, making her grow uncomfortable.

"Is there a problem?" she asked politely.

"My father forgot to mention that we don't allow hoods or hats in the shop," Ayame explained, pointing to a sign that proved her statement. "If you could please…?"

Kushina nodded and raised her hood, revealing her younger face to the two others. "Sorry about that, chef-san."

Ayame merely smiled politely at the apology. "Don't worry so much. I'm just surprised you wear that hood and cover your hair. It's beautiful."

Kushina smiled at the compliment. "Thank you. Not many people complimented my hair when I was younger." It was true, and she still remembered all the boys she beat up for calling her "tomato head" when she was a young girl.

"I don't see why they would," Naruto said with a small smile. "Your hair is nice, and it's a great shade of red." He rubbed his head sheepishly at his own words while Kushina and Ayame laughed lightly.

"Thank you," replied the redhead, mentally jumping for joy at how he acted like her. She may have lost the right to be his mother, but he still inherited some of her quirks. "So, what's this I hear about you and your future team?"

Naruto lost his smile for a sigh and solemn look. "It's not that important. I'm just worried that I might hold them back is all."

"Well, have you thought about addressing where you find yourself struggling?" she asked.

"If you mean fixing my weak points, then yes I have tried. But it's hard when you have as much chakra as I do."

_'Tell me about it,'_ she mentally agreed while the Yin Kyuubi chuckled. "Well, I could help you out if you need it." He turned to her with a raised brow, making her grin. "I happen to have a similar problem as you and I found a way to overcome that problem. I can help you with your own problem and teach you."

The blonde looked back to his bowl in thought as Teuchi handed Kushina her bowl and she began to eat. "What exactly will you do to help me?"

She finished a mouthful of noodles before she wiped her lips with a napkin. "The way I see it, people with large chakra reserves like you and me need to focus on chakra control. It's a fundamental skill, but it has many different levels for higher control. When you gain better control, you use less chakra and may even be able to use lower level jutsu."

"Is that it?" he asked, feeling a bit let down. However, her sudden laughter caught him by surprise.

"Of course that's not it!" she said between laughs. "I'm going to teach you something that I bet no one else can. But first, what's your name?" She needed to pretend she didn't know him, and it hurt slightly to do so.

He blinked in confusion for a moment before he realized that they never introduced themselves. "I'm Naruto; Naruto Uzumaki. That's old man Teuchi Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame."

The two chefs nodded in greeting and she returned the gesture while her mind raced for a false name. "My name is…Suki Uzumaki," she answered, giving only a slight pause in the middle of her introduction, though she played it off as herself being surprised at Naruto's surname.

He himself was surprised for real. "U-Uzumaki?" he asked in shock. "I-I thought only I was an Uzumaki in the village."

"While meeting another of my kin is a surprise to me too," she began, "there are others out there. They've just been scattered after our country fell during the Second Great Ninja War."

"We had a country? Were we a clan?"

"Yes to both. We were both a clan _and_ a nation. Our village was known as Uzushiogakure and they were once allies of this village. However, they were wiped out during the war and our people were nearly lost in a genocide. I don't know how many of us are left, but meeting another is a huge relief." She held a hand out to him with a smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, brother."

He slowly smiled back and took her hand with an eager handshake. "You too…sister."

"As nice a moment as this is," Teuchi began, looking at the clock, "you're almost late for the team assignments, Naruto."

His blue eyes widened in shock before he cursed, "Ah shit! I gotta go!" He quickly left some money on the counter for the ramen and waved to others as he ran off. "See you guys later!"

Cupping her hands over her mouth, Kushina called out to him, "Meet me at the park after you meet your team!"

He waved again to her with a grin and a nod as he rushed off to class. She smiled at her success at seeing _and_ coming into contact with him before she turned to the two chefs.

"Now if you two don't mind, I'd like to know the current events of the village, please."

"Why would you need to know that?" asked Teuchi in confusion. "Don't you live here?"

"Not exactly. I live in the outskirts of the village in a shrine dedicated to the Uzumaki Clan. So I don't really know what's happened over the years."

"And you figured you'd need to know since you've offered to teach Naruto-kun," finished Ayame, making Kushina smile and nod.

"Exactly, so if you two don't mind…?"

The two chefs looked to one another for a moment before they began telling what they knew.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Kushina sat against a park tree, mulling over everything she had been told by the Ichiraku chefs. To think that the clan of her best friend, Mikoto, had been wiped out by her eldest child, Itachi, was beyond shocking. But it made no sense to her. Itachi was such a polite and respectful child, and he would never have done something as heinous as what was now dubbed the Uchiha Massacre.

The boy couldn't have done it without either some extremely justifiable reason or some kind of influence or circumstance. He killed his parents and dozens of innocent people, and he was far too pacifistic for such an act. And now, only two Uchiha remained in the world; both of them being the children of Mikoto.

She sighed and offered a silent prayer for her best friend and surrogate sister. She only hoped that she could find out the truth in all of this for her sake.

Her musings were cut short when a streak of orange caught her eye and Naruto landed in front of her with an apologetic smile. "Sorry I took so long. We ended up waiting a couple hours for our sensei and we did some introductions."

She smiled reassuringly and replied, "That's alright. Although, if this is gonna be a constant issue, then I suggest you come to my home for our sessions. It will also allow me to teach you our clan's signature art without any distractions."

He grinned at that and nodded. "Awesome, ttebayo!" He then froze and blushed in embarrassment at his verbal tick.

Kushina herself mentally sighed at his taking one of the things she wished he _hadn't_ about her; the damnable verbal tick. Outside though, she merely smiled at his actions. "Hey, don't be so embarrassed. I have a similar quirk too, ttebane."

He looked to her in surprise before he returned her smile. "Thanks. So, where will I meet you?"

Her smile still in place, she turned and began to walk off while waving for him to follow. It took some time, but they finally reached the shrine and she turned to face him with her arms open wide.

"Welcome to the Uzumaki Shrine; my home, our clan's last standing building, and the place where we will commence your training." He smile turned into a challenging grin as she asked, 'So, are you ready?"

Pumping his fist in determination and matching her grin, he replied, "You bet I am!"

"Very well then; let's begin!" she exclaimed. _'I promise to make you stronger, Naruto-kun. I'll make sure you're strong enough to protect both yourself and anyone you care about. I just hope I can become one of those people in the future.'_

**X-x (End Chapter) x-X**

**Here we are; chapter one! Now, I know you guys are probably concerned about the age of Naruto. Well, the way I see it is that he is older due to failing three times at the Academy. And I'm sure they don't offer an immediate do over for the test. As such, Naruto was held back each time, so he is two years older than Team Gai (13) and three years older than the rest of the Rookie Nine (12). This makes him his current age of fifteen.**

**Kushina is no longer related to Naruto **_**maternally**_**. This does not mean she is not completely unrelated to him. At most, she is a cousin and at least she is a fellow clan member. She will teach him the Uzumaki Fuinjutsu along with other things I hope you all will enjoy!**

**As stated above, this story is Kushina-centric with Naruto as a secondary focus. This means that most of the story will center on Kushina's point of view while I'll move to Naruto's point of every now and then; especially for important moments/events.**

**As for the pairing, it will be an eventual KushiNaru story with it being only slightly incest due to them both being Uzumaki. Kushina still has her memories of her life, but she is believed to be dead by everyone she knew. So, she is going by the name Suki (Heart) to keep herself out of suspicion.**

**Until next time, everyone!**

**pain17ification**


	2. Chapter 2: Nami and Taki pt1

**Welcome to the second chapter of **_**The Deepest Bond**_**! I'm glad you are continuing to read this!**

**Now before I begin, I'd like to point out that I got a lot of heat/complaints for making Naruto older than his "canon" counterpart. The main arguments concerned how Sasuke was older "in canon", so it shouldn't work.**

**Newsflash, people! This is FANFICTION, where we take "canon" and throw it out the literary window! This story has Naruto being born and receiving the Yang Kyuubi three years earlier than "canon" would have it! This means that he's older than the rookies are and a year younger than Itachi was (since he was four years older than Sasuke and Naruto in canon)!**

**Please don't give me anymore heat for this decision! I needed a valid excuse for Naruto to not be so connected to the Konoha Rookies, and being a three-time failure teamed with ninja younger than himself fit the bill!**

**To those of you who supported my decision, you have my thanks for understanding my method of thought!**

**Once again, to deal with damn copyright and legal bullshit, I OWN NOTHING!**

**X-x-X-x-X**

**The Deepest Bond**

**Chapter 2: Nami and Taki pt. 1**

**X-x-X-x-X**

_Choices are irrelevant in our lives. What matters in our life is how our actions affect the people we cherish the most._

_I've made my choice, and I will act on that choice so that he will have a good life; I swear it._

**X-x-X-x-X**

A week to the day of her meeting Naruto had passed, and Kushina was currently in a state of amusement. The reason for said amusement was the orange clad blonde wobbling comically as he struggled to stand on a small pond. The woman was standing without issue and had her arms crossed with a smile tugging at her lips, a twitch pulling them further upward with every curse uttered by the whiskered teen.

"Crap!" he yelled as he lost balance and fell into the water for the fourth time in the past ten minutes. He came back up a couple seconds later with a frown on his face before he trudged back to land with his clothes soaked. "Stupid chakra exercise," he muttered.

"You'll get it," assured Kushina as she walked over to him and sat next to him as he laid on his back on the grass. "You just need to calm down and relax. Chakra control is also based on emotional state; so if you're frustrated or angry, control is much more difficult. Understand?"

He sighed and nodded. "Yea yea, I get it… Doesn't mean I have to like these exercises."

"No one said you had to, baka," she teased and they both gave a small laugh at it. "So, think you're up for another try?"

The blonde raised himself to a sitting position and stared at the pond before him with a slight frown. Saying nothing, he stood up and carefully placed his foot on top of the edge of the water and slowly began to walk to the center. Kushina watched as he treaded carefully and wobbled every couple of steps, but was pleased that he was doing well. When he finally made it to the center after about two minutes of carefully placed steps, he turned to her and grinned triumphantly while she gave a small smile.

"Good work! Now, make your way back."

He nodded and proceeded to repeat the process of careful steps as he made his way back to the grassland surrounding the pond. It took a little less time for the return trip, which impresses the redhead since that showed Naruto was already getting better.

As soon as he was back on solid ground, he grinned wider and turned to point at the pond. "Take that, you poor excuse for a puddle! I conquered your sorry ass!"

Kushina rolled her eyes before she bopped her fellow Uzumaki over the head. "Baka, you haven't conquered anything. And don't insult the pond, or else you'll get SOAKED!" she berated before yelling the last word and shoving him into the water. A surprised yelp was very satisfying to her ears as well as the sight of a shocked and soaked Naruto's head coming back up.

"Oi, that was messed up, Suki!" he yelled while she laughed loudly.

"You should see your face!" she said between laughs as she turned around and made her way back to the shrine.

Naruto was behind her after a few seconds, grumbling to himself and making her snicker. "So now that you've had your laugh and I've gotten a handle on this exercise, what next?"

"Now, you go to your team meeting since it's been almost two hours already. From what you've told me about your sensei, he's two hours late for everything. We'll continue when you come back."

Blue eyes widened in surprise at the amount of time passed before Naruto rushed off. "See ya later, Suki!" he called as he left.

The woman smiled as she watched him leave before it gave way to a depressed look. "He should already know this at his age. He should've been an experienced shinobi already with others his own age."

**"No sense in dwelling on what should've been,"** noted the Yin Kyuubi. **"We should be focused on making sure he can take care of himself and my other half."**

A frustrated sigh escaped her lips as she entered the shrine. "I know already! We need to keep both of your halves safe or else we lose you and one of the best chances of stopping that bastard. But it's so frustrating seeing how…how…"

**"Weak?"** supplied the fox.

"No! He is _not_ weak!" defended the woman. "He's neglected and looked over, but that does not make him weak!"

**"Calm yourself; I was merely suggesting what you might've been thinking. Besides, you're making up for his disadvantages by helping him with his chakra control. Not to mention how you'll be teaching him your clan's most famous ninja art."**

She took a deep breath to calm herself before she made a couple of _**Shadow Clones**_. She pointed to one and ordered, "You go to the weapons shop and see if you can get a book on various weapon arts." The clone nodded and left after the original gave her some money. She pointed to the other and said, "You search this place for any hidden seals that I might have missed. We need to see if there's anything we could use."

When the other clone left to search, Kushina stepped outside and made ten more clones before she ordered them to begin repairing the outside of the shrine. Once every clone was assigned a job, she took a meditative position on the ground and began to relax her mind. When she opened her eyes, she was standing in front of a caged door with a seal tag where the lock would be.

On the other side of the bars was the Yin Kyuubi, which looked exactly like the original fox but was smaller and had a darker, almost red, fur color. She crossed her arms and looked the fox in the eye as she declared, "You and I need to come to some sort of understanding, Kyuubi."

The Bijuu raised a brow and retorted, **"And what did you have in mind?"**

"You and I both agree that Naruto and your other half need to stay alive, but I also know that the four of us won't be enough for that masked man right now. If he was able to rip you out of me, then he can do the same to Naruto. We need allies, but I'm also going to need your power if we want to make a stand."

The Yin Kyuubi furrowed its brow in thought as its head rested on its forepaws. It was silent for a few moments with neither inhabitant of the seal saying a word before the fox spoke up. **"Our best bet at allies would be the other Jinchuriki, as well as some above average people who could hold their own in a fight. The closest Jinchuriki is the one that resides in Takigakure **(Hidden Waterfall Village) **and holds the Nanabi."** It then looked the redheaded woman in the eye and added, **"As for lending you my power, it's not as simple as you would believe. As a Bijuu – even if I'm only a half of one – my chakra is corrosive and it affects the body and mind. It latches onto your negative emotions and slowly drives you mad while destroying your body from the inside."**

Kushina frowned at that, having never known since she never relied on the fox's chakra before. "Then how can I use your chakra in the future if I can't use it now?"

**"I never said it was impossible; I just said it was risky. I can see the merit in you using my power, especially if we face another Jinchuriki. So, I will lend you some whenever I feel you need it, and I will try to restrain as much as I can from harming you."**

"You have my gratitude," thanked the woman with a small bow. She then left the seal and refocused to the real world just in time to see a familiar, yet older, face. She mentally cursed as Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage, stood in front of her.

"Good morning to you, Miko-san," greeted the elderly Kage. "I hope I didn't surprise you with my sudden visit."

She quickly calmed her features and returned the man's kind smile. "I'm afraid to say that you did, Hokage-sama. I was not expecting you to visit this place at all."

"Well, I heard rumors about the old shrine of our fallen allies being cared for, so I couldn't help but see for myself," he replied, making her mentally frown.

_'So Naruto must've told him during one of their talks. Based on how excited he was to meet me, and how he talks about the old man, there must not be many secrets between them; or at least, Naruto doesn't hide anything from him,'_ she deduced.

"Imagine my surprise when both this rumor _and_ the one concerning another Uzumaki member living in the village were being made true," he continued. "Although, there is one thing I'm far more curious about…"

"And that would be…?"

She was met with a serious looking Hokage, staring at her distrustfully with narrowed eyes. "I want to know what exactly your intentions are with Naruto. The boy has been hurt enough in this village, and I refuse to have him hurt by a clan member on top of it all."

She narrowed her eyes back and stood up from her seated position, showing no fear. "So you don't trust me; is that it? Is that why you're here trying to grill me about my time spent with Naruto?" A silent stare was her answer. "Why do you care so much about him anyway? I never see you with him, checking up on him or even just spending time with him. He speaks highly of you, but even I can tell he's hurt from something you've done…or _haven't_ done."

"And just what is it you believe I have not done for him? I have done all that I can for Naruto including securing him a home and protecting him from…certain parties."

"You can save the act, old man," declared the redhead with a scowl. "I figured out Naruto's _ailment_ early on, and I honestly don't give a damn. He's an Uzumaki, and that's all that matters to me since that makes him _my_ family."

Hiruzen scowled this time and fired back, "Then where were you during his early years?"

"Where were _you_?!" angrily challenged Kushina. "The way he lives, the way he's treated, and even the current level of skill he has shows that he has had no one there for him for most of his life! He may see you in a good life, but I know for a fact that you'd put the village over his wellbeing! Tell me I'm wrong!"

The two were glaring heatedly at one another, wills clashing in a heated stare down. "I have been there for him and I will always be there to stop anyone who may hurt him physically or emotionally."

"Great job so far," scoffed Kushina. "You don't see him like I do. You don't see the hurt in his eyes, and if _this_ is how you see if people are going to hurt him, it's no wonder that no one approached him early on! You say you're _helping_ him, but your actions repel anyone who actually wants to _try_ to help!"

"That's preposterous!" immediately denied the man.

"Oh, is it? Then tell me, oh saintly Kage before me, has there ever been a time where Naruto seemed down about a friend suddenly not showing up or being there for him? Think long and hard about it while you get off my property."

With her piece said, she turned and headed inside before slamming the door shut. The old man scowled at the closed door before what she challenged slowly broke down in his mind. Thinking back, he tried to remember such occurrences in hopes of not finding any. Sadly, he did find some moments; two to be precise.

One was after Naruto had told him about meeting a certain Cat masked ANBU and having a good time just talking with her. The Hokage had grilled her about her intentions and practically scared her off. The following week later, Naruto seemed downtrodden about not seeing the ANBU and fearing he did something wrong.

The second time was when the only known apprentice of his traitorous student tried to get close to the boy. Once again, he let his overprotective and accusatory side get the better of him and interrogated one of his best interrogators about her actions. He cringed as he recalled accusing her of using Naruto as a "shield" to take the brunt of the village's hate when around her. And once again, Naruto was upset at her sudden end of visiting him and blamed himself.

He cursed himself as he realized that the Uzumaki girl's words were true and that his actions hurt Naruto far more than helped him. By the Kami, he had emotionally and socially stunted the boy! It was no wonder he sought solitude with anyone other than himself and the ramen chefs that _he_ introduced Naruto to!

He was responsible for Naruto becoming socially awkward and a loner.

Cursing himself again, he left in a flurry of leaves back to his office while Kushina stared heatedly from the window the whole time. She saw all of the emotions on his face and she felt justified when she saw absolute regret and guilt in his eyes.

"I hope you wallow in your guilt for a _long_ time, you old prune," she growled out as she saw him leave.

**"Even I can see the foolishness of his actions concerning the boy; and I've barely had any human interaction."**

"So long as he works on fixing those mistakes, I'll leave him be. For now, I need to prepare for my trip to Taki."

**"Have you been there before?" **asked the vulpine Bijuu.

"Not the village, but I have been in the surrounding area before. I just hope I don't run into any problems."

**X-x-X-x-X**

Naruto sighed as he and his teammates worked on paining a fence for a civilian that had a broken right arm. It was just his luck that the man was not only right handed but was one of the villagers who hated what he carried. Not to mention that his teammates decided to work away from him and left him half of the fence to tackle alone.

"You alright, Naruto?" asked Kakashi, his sensei.

The blonde smiled slightly at the man's concern. Team 7 wasn't as bad as he thought it'd be since his sensei seemed to genuinely care about his development and wellbeing. "Yea, I'm okay sensei. Just thinking is all."

"Hmm," hummed the Jonin as he put away his orange book. "About what?"

"How things have changed and stayed the same since I became a Genin," answered the Uzumaki. "I never thought so much would happen and I expected a lot of things to remain unchanged."

The last part of his answer was accompanied with a subtle nod to the scowling civilian who was watching Naruto like a hawk. The silverette man gave a barely noticeable frown at that and nodded. "Yea, I can understand that."

"So, when will we do more challenging missions? I don't know about you, but I'm dying of boredom with every mission we do."

Kakashi chuckled at that while Naruto grinned. "I suppose I am too since just watching you guys bores me. I guess we can ask Hokage-sama about it after this mission. I'll see if there are any easy C-Ranks for us."

"Thanks sensei!" exclaimed the whiskered teen before he returned to painting with a new drive to get it done.

When they finished and received thanks from the man (minus thanks to Naruto), they began heading to the Hokage Tower to report their success. Along the way, Kakashi read his book and held a calm conversation with his blonde student while they both tried to ignore Sakura asking Sasuke out on another date. The Uchiha himself was desperately wishing for a distraction to shut up his pinkette nightmare.

Luckily for him, a distraction came in Naruto cheerfully greeting someone. "Suki-chan!" exclaimed the blonde as he ran over to the redhead who had just finished purchasing some supplies for camping. "What's up?"

She smiled back at him and answered, "I'm just getting some much needed supplies. This is actually my second stop since my first was meant for getting you these."

She held up some bands for her fellow Uzumaki, confusing him before he took them from her. At her urging, he put them on his wrists and ankles before he saw _Suki_ hold up a handseal. Immediately, he felt the bands grow heavier and nearly drag him down.

"Those are chakra weights," Kushina said, answering his unasked question. "They'll help build up your strength and speed. Right now, they all weigh about ten pound each; so you're lugging around and extra forty pounds."

"Interesting," commented Kakashi as he and his other two students got closer. "These seals on the bands look handmade. Your work, I assume?"

Kushina nodded while mentally smiling at seeing Kakashi once more. He hadn't changed much since she last saw him, save for growing taller and wearing standard Jonin gear. "That's right. Those seals react to our chakra, so only Naruto and I can increase or remove the added weight."

"_Our_ chakra?" asked Sakura while frowning at Kushina. For all she knew, this redheaded hussy was out to steal Sasuke from her.

Naruto was the one who answered. "Yea! Suki-chan here is an Uzumaki like me, and we both have a more unique chakra then average people."

"Right," Kakashi noted with a knowing nod. "The Uzumaki Clan's chakra potency. I almost forgot about that."

"The dobe has a clan?" asked Sasuke with a raised brow, making Kushina turn and scowl at him.

_'He looks a lot like Mikoto-chan… I see. So this is her second child, Sasuke. She __**did**__ say that she wanted another kid before I gave birth to Naruto,'_ she mused.

"That's right. The Uzumaki Clan was an ally of Konoha before they were wiped out on a triple front of Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa during the second war. The red spiral on our uniforms shows how we honor their passing and their contribution to Konoha," informed the Jonin, pointing to the red spiral on his clothes.

"Three of the five villages?!" asked a shocked pinkette. "That's insane!"

"Not really," stated Kushina. "We were quite a formidable clan after all, and our seals are peerless in both ingenuity _and_ efficiency. You give us a paper and some ink against someone in full gear and we match them easily." Sasuke was intrigued by this while Sakura looked awed and Naruto grinned at how incredible his clan was. "Anyway, I'll see you later, Naruto. I have more stuff to get and we need to talk later."

"Alright then," agreed the blonde as he bid her farewell. He then turned to the others and said, "So, that's my distant cousin Suki. I met her a week ago on the day of team assignments and she's been helping me in my training."

Kakashi looked interested at what exactly his student had learned while Sakura was glad _Suki_ showed no interest in Sasuke. The Uchiha was currently trying to figure out how to get his blonde teammate to convince _Suki_ to make him some seals. If they were as powerful as the woman suggested, then surely they would be beneficial in taking down his brother.

"Well, shall we continue?" asked Kakashi before he took the lead.

Back with Kushina, she had just finished talking to a weapon forger about a weapon design she wanted her to make. The bun-haired girl was more than happy to comply with the request, wanting the credit for the unique weapon that would be made. She only asked to be there when it was tested, and Kushina was quick to agree with the request.

Now, she was at one of the many Civilian Service Centers where she registered the Uzumaki Shrine as her home and where her mail and/or packages would be sent. She didn't expect any, but she mainly did this in case Naruto ever needed a place to stay in the future.

It was now later in the afternoon when she noticed her blonde family member walking up to the shrine looking excited. "Something good happen?" she asked.

"My team got a C-Rank mission! We're gonna escort some bridge builder to his home in Nami (Wave)!"

She smiled at his enthusiasm. "That's great news! And it actually makes this a lot easier for me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm going to leave Hi no Kuni (Land of Fire) for some time. I was worried about how your training would go without me, but you having a mission will help smooth out the issue slightly." He nodded in understanding before he caught a scroll tossed to him. "In that is more chakra control exercises as well as a jutsu you'll find useful. Be sure to practice…and come back safe, okay?"

Naruto blinked at the worried afterthought she threw in before he smiled and hugged her, surprising her and making her cheeks have a faint pink dust them. "I will, Suki-chan. You come back safe too, alright?"

She smiled and hugged him back, nodding into his shoulder due to her slightly shorter height. "Of course, Naruto-kun."

After making sure he had everything he needed, Kushina bid Naruto goodbye before she grabbed her own pack and her cloak. In a swirl of red leaves, she left her home and arrived in the middle of the forests surrounding Konoha. With her face set in firm determination, she leapt off toward the direction of Takigakure.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Amethyst eyes slowly opened from her perch in a tree outside of Taki. She yawned slightly before she looked down and took note of someone looking around for any spies. A smirk graced her lips as she saw them think the coast was "clear" before they dove in what would look like a random "puddle" that covered the area.

When they didn't come back up for air after a few minutes, her smirk grew into a grin before she descended from her perch and approached the "puddle". Taking a breath, she dove in and began swimming deeper and deeper. The underwater current was weak, but it gave her the direction that she needed to go.

After about two minutes with chakra reinforcing her lungs, she finally surfaced inside of a hollowed out tree with a gasp of air. She coughed slightly to get rid of the small amount of water in her lungs before she quickly moved into the brush around the tree. It was great timing on her part since a couple of Taki shinobi were heading to the entrance she had used.

When they dived into the entrance and out of sight, she emerged from her hidden position and adjusted her black cloak before she headed into town. It was definitely smaller than Konoha by a large margin, but it was still relatively easy for her to blend in. A **Transformation** jutsu hid her more noticeable features and she looked to be a woman with brown hair and green eyes.

Hers and Kyuubi's senses were open in search of the Bijuu chakra all Jinchuriki were known for. There was no such source in the town square so she headed to the large lake that separated the village from the largest tree in Taki. Her eyes narrowed as she stared at the tree, feeling a faint source of chakra from that direction.

She looked back to the village, taking note of no one paying her any mind, before she began to calmly walk across the lake towards the tree. The further she walked, the stronger the chakra source felt. Her gait began to grow more confident as her gaze was focused on the tree.

However, her mind was elsewhere. _'Naruto-kun… You better be okay.'_

**X-x-X-x-X**

Naruto sighed, releasing a frosty breath as he and his teammates rode with their client in a boat towards Nami. Earlier, they had run into a pair called the Demon Brothers who were both taken care of by Naruto and Sasuke's efforts. Now, they were continuing with what should've been classified as a B or possibly A-Ranked mission.

_'Dammit, I was not expecting this at all for my first outside mission. Okay, calm down Naruto. As long as Kakashi-sensei is here, then things shouldn't be so bad. Plus, Sasuke and I did pretty well back there.'_ He took a deep breath to calm his nerves, something Kakashi noticed, before his blue eyes closed and he began to take slow breaths.

_Suki_ had told him the benefits of meditation, which he didn't see right away do to his impatience. However, after literally bopping some sense into him, he grew to enjoy the calming effects it had on his psyche. He felt more focused after each session; more aware.

Kakashi smiled slightly at his eldest student. It seemed as if his distant cousin had done wonders for his training and he learned how to take advantage of the time he had to calm and prepare himself for what may come next. Each shinobi had their own different methods of calming themselves. Naruto's seemed to be meditation while his was reading his book; which he was doing now.

When the ship arrived to shore, the group of five made their way down the misty path, unaware of the danger ahead.

**X-x-X-x-X**

Kushina sighed as she stepped onto shore, looking up to try and see the top of the massive tree before her. "Massive" was low balling it when describing the size. The thing was as wide as the Hokage Mountain, and _much_ taller!

_'Geez… This __**has**__ to be Shodaime-sama's work.'_

**"I agree. This tree is much too large to be natural, and Hashirama-san was incredibly powerful with his Wood Style."**

Kushina mentally nodded before her senses picked up the Bijuu chakra she was searching for. A relieved sigh escaped her before she called out, "Excuse me? I'm looking for the holder of the sacred beetle?"

Within seconds, she was surrounded by bugs emerging from the ground and flying out of the tree brush. She tensed at the countless number of them before a voice answered her call. "Who wants to know? Another assassin?"

Kushina blinked at the female tone before she smiled. _'Oh yea… A girl is the third highest number __**and**__ half of the highest! Take that you sexist pigs!'_

The Yin Kyuubi sweatdropped at that before its humanoid forepaw hit its face in annoyance. _**'Ugh… Humans…'**_

"I share your condition," Kushina answered the hidden female. "You carry the Nanabi of the Nine Bijuu while I hold half of the Kyuubi."

"Half?" questioned the girl. "How could one hold half a Bijuu? It's either you hold one or you don't!"

"It's complicated and it concerns a seal that was used for the sealing. The Kyuubi was split in two and I hold a half of it while someone close to me holds the other half."

The buzzing of the countless insects, which was low since their arrival, suddenly became deafening as they swirled around Kushina like a hurricane. She raised an arm to brace herself as a figure began to appear across from her. She had mint green hair, orange eyes, and wore a white kunoichi outfit while a scowl marred her pretty face.

The scowl deepened as she looked Kushina in the eyes, her own changing from orange to red with slit pupils. "Start talking," she ordered while Kushina stared down her fellow Jinchuriki.

"Of course," she replied before she began explaining.

**X-x (End Chapter) x-X**

**And there we have it; chapter two! I hope that my earlier author note hammered in my decision staying the same about Naruto being older than the other rookies. I also hope that you guys keep reading this story.**

**Now, Kushina is going to go on occasional trips to visit her fellow Jinchuriki so that she can gather allies to counter the Akatsuki. Granted, she doesn't know of the Akatsuki yet, but she knows that the Masked Man is still out there.**

**The Jinchuriki won't be her only potential allies. I plan to throw in others, as well as a secret mentor of Kushina's that will be from a different series! Good luck guessing who this mentor will be! *evil laughter***

**Anyway, until next time everyone!**

**pain17ification**


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